A Parallel Reading of the ‘Oriental’ and South American Opera Libretti set by Sir Henry Bishop

Abstract

This chapter asserts that quaintness was an aspect of the 'noble savage' idea that solidified in the early nineteenth century, and explores the representations of quaintness in the opera libretti set by Sir Henry Bishop in the early nineteenth century. Bishop studied under the Italian composer Francesco Bianchi, who supported his earliest productions, all of which were ballets at Drury Lane and the King’s Theatre. The stereotype of the sensual, ‘Oriental’ woman is not transferred to Bishop’s South American operas, and is instead replaced by savage female nobility. A propensity for corruption and violence is a recurring theme when representing the ‘Orient’, as is illustrated in the libretti set by Bishop. As a stereotype the noble savage differs from those of the sexualized ‘Oriental’ woman and the corrupt ‘Oriental’ man. The chapter demonstrates how the non-European operas of Sir Henry Bishop helped to create and uphold this repertoire of stereotypical native characterizations.